Every song Bob Dylan wrote or performed can be distilled in a haiku. NOTE FOR READERS: All posts from 2010 to 2014 should be considered out of date. Please disregard them. There are, or will be, new versions of each haiku.

This is a song by Ralph and Carter Stanley, one of those high-and-lonesome bluegrass tunes about abandoned love.

In short:

He sits on the river banks, accompanied by the lonely wind and the high water. He's too lonely to cry and has no one to love or kiss him goodnight because the woman he loves left him this morning. Once they swore to each other that they would stay together and be happy forever. Then she fell in love with someone else.

"Floater (Too Much to Ask)" is one of those old-fashioned songs that could have come out 80 years ago, thought he lyrics are decidedly Dylanesque and modern. The song contains 16 verses, none of which seem to relate to each other, other than a recurring reference to living like a contrarian when people try to get the singer to do one thing or another. The title comes from the last verse when Dylan observes that it's not easy to kick someone out (of your home, I guess), and that it's unpleasant task. Sometimes, he says, someone wnats you to give something up, and even if they cry about it, "it's too much to ask."

Other contrary stuff in the song:

- Sometimes old men around here get on bad terms with the young men, but age doesn't mean anything anyway.

- One of the boss's hangers-on tries to bully you and inspire you with fear, but it has the opposite effect.

- His father is like a feudal lord and has more lives than a cat. He's never argued once with his wife, and as Dylan says, "Things come alive or they fall flat."

- Romeo tells Juliet her complexion makes her look old. Juliet replies: "Shove off if it bothers you so much."

- Bob says that if you interfere with him or cross him, your life could be in danger. He's not as cool or forgiving as he sounds, he says.

There are other verses that say other things, but it feels like this is the right way to go with the haiku.

You made him cry, now it's your turn. That's the message that ends every verse of this song, though the little stories that precede the refrain are an intriguing display of the Dylan rhyme machine at work.

1. He has to visit a "nasty, dirty, double-crossin', backstabbin' phony" named Mr. Goldsmith, and he did it just for her. But all she gave him was a smile.

2. He's a union man and he's going to set you straight.

3. He feels like a fighting rooster, pretty good in fact. He goes the extra mile when he goes to church each day.

4. He heard such a loud noise through the walls across the alley. It must have been "Don Pasquale making a 2 a.m. booty call." Breaking his trusting heart was just your style. Your turn to cry a while.

5. Some people have no heart or soul. He has both. He's been crying for you, but now it's your turn.

6. He's going to buy himself some whiskey. He plans to die before he can turn senile.

7. You bet on the wrong horse. He always said you'd be sorry. He might kill you, so he'll need a good lawyer for the trial.

Here's another song of trains, shadows, sunlight, loss, the memory of sweet days and the reality of the cold present. The singer goes through several kinds of lament for the former, and obviously current object of desire.

1. Hope rides away on a train. Joy and love have faded. Hills dark, falling stars. He pretends he's not sad, but his heart's miles away. He can't escape from her memory.

2. Why does he suffer? He did no wrong.

3. She didn't behave well. She wasted her power, withered like a flower, played the fool. She tried to bring him down. He's not sad or sorry like he said he was before.

4. Actually, he IS sorry. They should have lasted forever, they had lovely days together, they had good times. Now she's with someone else, God knows who, and still, he can't escape from you.

Dylan fans will recognize the tune that formed the basis of “I Pity the Poor Immigrant” six years after he performed this song. “The Ballad of Donald White” is a song of societal ills too, but in a different vein. Ol’ Donald sings the sad story of his life just before he hangs for murder. He came from Kansas, ended up in Seattle and everywhere he went he was an anti-social loser who couldn’t fit in. He had no education and stole to support himself. He wound up in jail where, rather like some of Jean Genet’s homosexual criminals, he found his real home. Trouble is, the jails and institutions were too crowded so he was set free. He begged to go back where he felt he belonged, but no one would incarcerate him without reason so he killed a man on Christmas Eve 1959. Naturally, they took him back, but only for a short stay. Then they hanged him. Don’s last question was whether “boys that come down the road like me, Are they enemies or victims of your society?”

Saturday, September 12, 2015

He loves you so much,
He'll be lonely when you go.
Maybe change your plans.

"You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go" is the last song on the first side of the 1975 album "Blood on the Tracks." You could see it as a breakup song or maybe even a song about death. Appearing amidst the carnage of broken love that's splattered all over this album, it carries at its heart a strange hope, as if love's only doom in a perfect situation is death, and even then love will outlast the end of one of its parties.- Love this time: close, easy, slow.- Until now he was "shooting in the dark too long" and all was wrong. - Before: careless love. Now: correct, on target, direct.- Beautiful colors of the clover, Queen Anne's Lace and your red hair. You could make him cry. Before: can't remember what he was thinking about. Your love spoils him.- Flowers and crickets and the lazy blue river. "I could stay with you forever and never realize the time."- Before: bad relationships, sad relationships, relationships like that of Verlaine and Rimbaud. Now: this is much better.- Why would he ever be without you? He should sit right down and write himself a letter.- Where you might be: Honolulaaah, San Francisco, Ashtabula. Now you're gone, but I'll see you in the sky, the grass and my loved ones.And the end of each verse carries the title...

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

This song from the 1967 Basement Tapes sessions is a poor-quality tape recording. I have done my best to get most of the lyrics right, but many are unintelligible. In fact, there is barely anything here in this strange caricature of a lounge singer performance that I could understand, but I wrote a haiku for it anyway. It is available on volume 11 of the Bootleg Series.No no no don't do that no moreYes xxxxxxxx baby dollBaby doll no moreWell xxxxxxNo corporation but my homey ragsMan she's too muchOh there's xxxx one-room Cadillac.Taking me in the breezeIf I was a chicken now, I'd just want to hear myself sneezeMMM, somethin' sure looks good goin' down boysBb-b-b-b-bba-ba-boommmmmmSo good to see you tonight dollMmmm, gonna tell you when it hurts, it hurtsWait dog... before my master comesba-da-da-da-da-do

I'm goin' down to West TexasBehind the Louisiana lineI'm goin' down to West TexasBehind the Louisiana lineGet me a fortune tellin' womanOne that's gonna read my mindIf you ever go to DallasTake the right hand roadIf you ever go to DallasTake the right hand roadThose western Dallas streets, boysThey' bound ta kill ya fo' sho'I'm goin' down to Jack Rabbit'sPast the west Texas lineI'm goin' down to Jack Rabbit'sBehind the Texas lineEh they's stars up aboveLord it's my a-leavin' m' signWell you never miss your water'till the well runs dryAn' you never miss your water'Till the well runs dryAn' you never miss your man'till he says "Good-bye"You can write an' tell m' MamaI won't be comin' home tonightYou can write an' tell my MotherI won't be home tonight

Should kids be wading
If God troubles the waters?
Songwriter says yes.

Here's a spiritual-style song that was recorded in 1961 and released on a live performance compilation in 2001.

Wade in the waterWade in the water, childrenWade in the waterGod's a-gonna trouble the waterGod's a-gonna trouble the waterWell, who are these children all dressed in red?God's a-gonna trouble the waterMust-a-be the children that Moses ledGod's a-gonna trouble the waterWade in the waterWade in the water, childrenWade in the waterGod's a-gonna trouble the waterGod's a-gonna trouble the waterWell out of the mountain come fire an' smokeGod's a-gonna trouble the waterJehovah nobody but he could've spokeGod's a-gonna trouble the waterWade in the waterWade in the water, childrenWade in the waterGod's a-gonna trouble the waterGod's a-gonna trouble the waterWell, I'm walkin' down the highway an' the water's gettin' lowGod's a-gonna trouble the waterWalkin' down the highway, nowhere to goGod's a-gonna trouble the waterBut it's wade in the waterWade in the water, childrenWade in the waterGod's a-gonna trouble the waterGod's a-gonna trouble the waterGod's a-gonna trouble the water

She's under control.
She doesn't need her hand held
As she's hard to hold.

This song from the 1967 Basement Tapes sessions is a poor-quality tape recording. I have done my best to get most of the lyrics right, but many are unintelligible. It is available on volume 11 of the Bootleg Series.Under controlAnd she's graveyard fenceJust how much was thatShe hopped on the tableBeneath the floorArrows to ashtrayShe said once moreShe ain't ready to goWell she' tolld me that she's tabled meShe's already xxxxxxxxxToo hot to holdShe's under controlShe's under controlPolice manWindow shadeShe said, xxxxx she's too hot to holdIn her soulShe's a rhinestone womanbut she's xxxxxxxUnder controlWell tombstone babyDon't mind me brotherShe said one more timeDon't mind me sisterShe said once againShe don't need gratitude to hold her handShe sure don't go

This song from the 1967 Basement Tapes sessions is a poor-quality tape recording. I have done my best to get most of the lyrics right, but many are unintelligible. It is available on volume 11 of the Bootleg Series.bag a xxxx2 dollars and 99 centsall my go down2 dollars and 99 centsit's a xxxxxfor xxxxxxlord lord tomorrow people godown one a two dollar billone ollar 99 centsten dollars was a two dollar billten dollars and 99 centshad a xxxxxxxxxxxxdevil's sonain't got a bus we'll keep it leveldo or diewhy oh whytwo dollars and 99 centswell she walkshe got mister two dollars and 99c entsoh you better go back and ask your sisterfor two dollars and 99 centsdo or die

I wish you'd love me,
But I don't think that you will.
That's the breaks of life.

This song from the 1967 Basement Tapes sessions is a poor-quality tape recording. I have done my best to get most of the lyrics right, but many are unintelligible. It is available on volume 11 of the Bootleg Series.

All right, let's xxxx thisOn my pillow last nightI thought I saw you dreamingJust a sudden glance of happiness gone bySuddenly came to me you seeJust a while ago when you left me, say your heart was broken little girlBut that... that's the breaks of life When you're breaking me Well it's a time of dayYou’re nice, but you're not that niceIf you'd only come and go a while with meBut when you're old and gray, sweetheart, you're my xxxxxxxxxBut that's the breaks of life, you see, that's the breaksWell, when I saw xxxxxx xxxxAnd you know it ain't xxxxxxHoney you know it's true for a whileWhat I say is only to my own appetiteWell, in the morning when you xxxxxx Please and xxxx be mineYou hang your head by the xxxxxxAnd then cry cry please be mine, cry and xxxxxxxIn my pillowIn my great .... whole delightPlease xxxxxxxMy darling, hold me, by my xxxxxxBut that's the breaks, you see, on the other side of lifeWell, when your flowers are falling my wayAnd your xxxxxx is all adoWhen your head is lonesome that wayIt's a hard way, might as well toBut when your picture's on the xxxxxLike your xxxxxxxxxxx on your waistOh xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxDon't you think that's a disgrace?Now you were xxx from me at midnight, broke my heartAnd it's too late to cover up all you seeBut when you're see future hanging low xxxxxxxBut it's always right down in my xxxxxBut that's the breaks on the other side of life

This song was sung by Eric von Schmidt and Bob Dylan at von Schmidt's Sarasota, Florida, home and released on the ultra-rare "50th Anniversary Collection 1964" copyright extension collection. Most people know the version by Creedence Clearwater Revival. It was written by Louisiana's Dale Hawkins. Some of the lyrics were hard to capture because of the poor quality of the recording.

Oh Susie QOh Susie QOh Susie QBaby I love youMy Susie Q

I like the way you walkI like the way you walkI like the way you walkI like the way you talkSusie QOh Susie QMy Susie QOh Susie QBaby I love youMy Susie Q

I like the way you reelI like the way you reelI like the way you feelMy Susie QOh Susie QMy Susie QMy Susie QBaby I love youMy Susie Q

I like the way you standI like the way you standI like the way you standI wanna be your manI wanna be your manOh Susie QOh Susie QOh Susie QBaby I love youMy Susie Q

Oh Susie QMy Susie QOh Susie QBaby I love youI know Eric does too

I like the way you talkI like the way you walkI like the xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxI never called a bark

Oh Susie QMy Susie QOh Susie QBaby I love youMy Susie Q

I don't want her tooI don't want to hurt youI don't want to hurt youOr want to make you blueMy Susie Q

There’s only thing I'll doThere's only one thing I'll doThat's XXXXXXAnd I will let you be you.

I will let you be you.I will let you be you.I will let you be youI'll let you be youWell Paul will too.

This song was sung by Eric von Schmidt and Bob Dylan at von Schmidt's Sarasota, Florida, home and released on the ultra-rare "50th Anniversary Collection 1964" copyright extension collection. I was unable to hear the lyrics all the way through because of the poor recording quality of what was not intended to be a commercial release.xxxxxxxxxMust have been a junkieXxxxxxMust have been a junkiexxxxxxMust have been a junkieAll his followersThey was stoned, stoned on the mountainSmashed in the valleyStoned on the mountainSmashed in the valleyStoned on the mountainSmashed in the valleySmashed, oh brotherStoned, take a little sniffTake a little sniffAnd you draw it down deepWhen you take a little sniffDraw it down deepWell you take a little sniffAnd you draw it down deepWell you take too much,Oh brother, you go to sleepStoned on the mountainWalkin' in the valleyStoned on the mountainSleepin' in the valleyStoned on the mountainWanderin' through the valleyYou're going to smash old... xxxxxxxWhen you're stonedWhat is this stoned business?Well, there's a whole lot of stones all layin' arondIn the valley?Yes, they roll 'em down.Yes, I know they roll them.In Colombia.My God, vacation land.Well you better watch outThat stone get stonedThat you don't get stonedBetter watch outThat you don't get stonedYou better watch outThat you don't get stonedYou might find you might you might lose your home.Don't do drugsyou better watch outFor the sign of falling rocksYou better watch outFor the sign of falling rocksYou better watch outFor the sign of falling rocksOh wow.I couldn't say what I was thinking.

Bob's standing around.
Trying to thumb himself a ride.
His life rolls on by.Here's another lonely hitchhiker thumb-a-ride song that Bob Dylan recorded as a demo for the Witmark publishing company in 1962. It’s the old, well known lament of blues singer Robert Johnson: Standing on the highway, trying to bum a ride, but nobody knows him, and everyone passes him by. The second verse is more metaphorical: he’s trying to be brave, as he notes that one road goes to “bright lights” and the other goes to the grave.It goes on like that.

This song from the 1967 Basement Tapes sessions is a poor-quality tape recording. I have done my best to get most of the lyrics right, but many -- nearly all in this one -- are unintelligible. It is available on volume 11 of the Bootleg Series.Morning rollDangle mePoted by but she don't cost meShe don't mind where she goAnyway she want to tryLaze away too long Go make some but my goneShe don't mind where she goHappen in a fallRaining's on my open hey holler he tried too hardOn my bailAny in the summertimeMolly knows is all my payNo babe don't happening straightShe's on my mind my mind, she's allReady for the morning timeNow old wind She's all stays in frontNo it is not morningtimerainy time comes once a yearshe's got an old medium xxxx walking down my faceanytime the summertimerich man lost on a way shealone she comes working hardshe's already some old timeNow all my troubles and peace she boughtKitchen up Molly went down abroadShe's on my way to Gonna pack I'm on a rainy seaOne time easy but it's two time oneIt's already Anybody but her knowsWell odds are we could be home by a weekTo come upon a donkeyShe's on my mind, you knowAvenue where everybody else goes downAny way you want to go

Del Shannon's classic rock-and-roll song, done Wilburys-style. First released on a single, it was later included on the box set compilation of their work in 2007.As I walk along, I wonderA-what went wrong with our loveA love that was so strongAnd as I still walk on, I think ofThe things we've done togetherWhile our hearts were youngI'm a-walkin' in the rainTears are fallin' and I feel the painWishin' you were here by meTo end this miseryI wonderI wah-wah-wah-wah-wonderWhyWhy, why, why, why, whyShe ran awayAnd I wonderWhere she will stayMy little runawayA-run, run, run, run, runawayI'm a-walkin' in the rainTears are fallin' and I feel the painWishin' you were here by meTo end this miseryAnd I wonderI wah-wah-wah-wah-wonderWhyWhy, why, why, why, whyShe ran awayAnd I wonderWhere she will stayMy little runawayA-run, run, run, run, runawayA-run, run, run, run, runawayA-run, run, run, run, runaway

This train is rolling,
This train is out of control.
This train rolls all night.

This song from the 1967 Basement Tapes sessions is a poor-quality tape recording. I have done my best to get most of the lyrics right, but many are unintelligible. It is available on volume 11 of the Bootleg Series. It doesn't sound like the Elton Anderson song of the same name, but who knows...

Roll on trainRollin all nightRoll out your wheelGet on boardRoll on trainGet you on the wayGet you It's hard to seeRoll rollBut she's on the runLady ladyWhen she's on theWhen she's passing the gateRoll on train

This song from the 1967 Basement Tapes sessions is a poor-quality tape recording. I have done my best to get most of the lyrics right, but many are unintelligible. It is available on volume 11 of the Bootleg Series.Pretty Mary pretty MaryWith the real white and goldTell me pretty MaryWhether we XXXXXX of goldBut I'm coming with midnightAnd the cold winds in twilightAnd the dream of the worldOf Pretty MaryPretty Mary, don't be lonelyPretty Mary, don't be cruelYou're my only destinationAnd I'm coming to youI'm waitin' for the devilOn my bed one She'll all XXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxxxxxxBut she knows it's xxxxxxxxxxxNow the cold winds to the crosswaysTo the valleys go southwardsAnd I think you're good lookin', pretty MaryI wish that my whole lifeOn a xxxxx so realHow she come and get me With the But I know it's all rightIf I bring you home tonightI'll at least be with pretty Mary.

A Traveling Wilbury's song, this was first released on the compilation "Nobody's Child: Romanian Angel Appeal," a benefit album for Romanian orphans, many of them HIV-positive. The song later was included on a 2007 box set collecting the two Traveling Wilburys albums and some singles miscellany. The song was written by Cy Coben and Mel Foree, and performed by Hank Snow in 1949.

As I was slowly passing, an orphan’s home todayI stopped for just a little while to watch the children playA lone boy standin', and when I asked him whyHe turned with eyes that could not see, and he began to cryI'm nobody's child, I'm nobody's childJust like a flower I'm growin' wildNo mama's arms to hold me no daddy's smileNobody wants me, I'm nobody's childIn every town and villageThere are places just like thisWith rows and rows of childrenAnd babies in their cribsThey've long since stopped their cryin'As no-one ever hearsAnd no-one there to notice them or take away their fearsNobody's child, they're nobody's childJust like a flower they're growin wildNo mama's arms to hold them, no daddy's smileNobody wants them they're nobody's childNobody's child, they're nobody's childJust like a flower they're growin wildNo mama's arms to hold them, no daddy's smileNobody wants them they're nobody's childNobody wants them they're nobody's child

Know why I feel good?
Because I’m forgetting how
It sucked when you left.

This song by Merle Kilgore -- and sung by Webb Pierce -- was recorded by Eric von Schmidt and Bob Dylan at von Schmidt's Sarasota, Florida, home and released on the ultra-rare "50th Anniversary Collection 1964" copyright extension collection.

More and moreI'm forgettin' the pastMore and moreI'm living at lastDay by dayI'm losing my bluesMore and moreI'm forgettin' 'bout youOh how I triedTo keep you by my sideAnd oh I criedThe day you said goodbyeDay by dayI'm losing my bluesMore and moreI'm forgetting about you

Landlord wants money,
So guy wants it too. He asks
His woman for some.

This Jesse Stone song, recorded by Clyde McPhatter and the Drifters, Elvis Presley and others, was sung by Eric von Schmidt and Bob Dylan at von Schmidt's Sarasota, Florida, home and released on the ultra-rare "50th Anniversary Collection 1964" copyright extension collection.You know, the landlord rang my front door bell.I let it ring for a long, long spell.I went to the window,I peeped through the blind,And asked him to tell me what's on his mind.He said,Money, honey.Money, honey.Money, honey, if you want to get along with me.Well, I screamed and I hollered,I was so hard-pressed.I called the woman that I loved the best.I finally got my baby about half past three,She said I'd like to know what you want with me.I said,Money, honey.Money, honey.Money, honey,If you want to get along with me.Well, I said tell me baby, what's wrong with you?From this day on our romance is throughI said, tell me baby, face to faceHow could another man take my place?She said,Money, honey.Money, honey.Money, honey,If you want to get a long with me.Well, I've learned my lesson and now I knowThe sun may shine and the winds may blow.The women may come and the women may go,But before I say I love you so,I wantMoney, honey.Money, honey.Money, honey,If you want to get along with me.

Dirty Johnny wants
To join the army on a
Cold and stormy night.This folk song was sung by Eric von Schmidt and Bob Dylan at von Schmidt's Sarasota, Florida, home and released on the ultra-rare "50th Anniversary Collection 1964" copyright extension collection.Here come long Johnny CuckooCuckooWell here come long Johnny CuckooCuckooYes I said here come long Johnny CuckooOne cold and stormy night

Well, what did you come for?Come for?Well, what did you come forOn a cold and stormy night?I come for to be a soldierI come for to be a soldierOn a cold and stormy night.

Well you look so black and dirtyDirtyDirtyWell you look so black and dirtyOn a cold and stormy night

Well I'm just as clean as you areYou areYou areWell I'm just as clean as you areOn a cold and stormy night

Bob Dylan and the Band recorded this Woody Guthrie song at a tribute to the folksinger. There's an album of the concert, but it wasn't released under Dylan's name. I have included this song here because it was part of the album "Bob Dylan Live 1961-2000: 39 Years of Great Concert Performances."

Well the world owns seven wonders as the travellers always tell.Some gardens and some towers, I guess you know them well.But now the greatest wonder is in Uncle Sam's fair land.That King Columbia river and the great Grand Coulee Dam.She come up the Canadian Rockies where the crystal waters glide,Comes a-roaring down the canyon to meet that salty tideFrom the great Pacific Ocean to where the sun sets in the west,That big Grand Coulee country in that land I love the best.In the misty glitter of that wild and windward spray,Men have fought the pounding waters and met a watery grave.Once she tore men's boats to splinters but she gave men dreams to dream,That day that Grand Coulee dam went across that wild and restless stream.Oh Uncle Sam took up the notion in the year of thirty three,For the factory and the farmer and for all of you and me.He said: roll it on Columbia, you can roll out to the seaBut river, while you're rolling you can do some work for me.Now from Washington and Oregon you can hear them factories a-hum,Making corn and making manganese and light aluminum.Always a flying fortress to blast for Uncle Sam,That King Columbia river and the great Grand Coulee dam.Well the world owns seven wonders as the travellers always tell.Some gardens and some towers, I guess you know them well.But now the greatest wonder is in Uncle Sam's fair land.That King Columbia river and the great Grand Coulee Dam

Some like it hot and
Some like it cold, but Strangelove
Likes it very weird.

This improvised song was sung by Eric von Schmidt and Bob Dylan at von Schmidt's Sarasota, Florida, home and released on the ultra-rare "50th Anniversary Collection 1964" copyright extension collection. I couldn't make out all of the lyrics so I did my best.Some say he's a womanSome say he's a man

I tell you some like it hot, oo yeahSome like it hot.Some like it cold.Some like it hot.Others they may like it cold.And there's some people like it in a partyAnd some like it nine days old.

Some like it skinnySome like it short and smallStrangeloveStrangeloveSome like it skinnySome like it short and smallWell some like it too muchAnd some don't like it at all

Dr. StrangeloveTry me to the xxxxxxxHe travels all overXXXXXXXXXXXXXXTell you about Dr. Strangelove now,Well you always have Dr. StrangelovexXXXXXXXXXXXX

Well you all know aboutThe XXXXXX fairy queenWell you all know aboutThe XXXXXX King Kong XXXXXXXWell I'm worried about that girl now,That neither(?) Shetland Pony to maintain....

Well Dr. StrangeloveHe sure is weirdWell Dr. StrangeloveOh lord, he sure is weird.He put me in bed with Charles LaughtonWhen he turned out to be King Lear.

He got.... XXXXXXWell, all kind of strange things are going on.Well, he got something for me...Strange things going on.Well the old black mama's XXXXXXXXXXAnd the little kids are digging King Kong.

StrangeloveStrangeStrangeStrangeGoodbye, Dr. StrangeloveWe'll see you again.

Here's a different version of "Black Crow Blues" from the 1964 album "Another Side of Bob Dylan." I mean different different: another title, other lyrics, and so on. This outtake did not make the album. It was released on the "50th Anniversary Collection 1964" copyright extension anthology.

Denise, Denise,Gal, what's on your mind?Denise, Denise,Gal, what's on your mind?You got your eyes closed,Heaven knows that you ain't blind.Well, I can see you smiling,But oh your mouth is inside out.I can see you smiling,But you're smiling inside out.Well, I know you're laughin'But what are you laughin' about.Well, if you're tryin' to throw me,Babe, I've already been tossed.If you're tryin' to throw me,Babe, I've already been tossed.Babe, you're tryin' to lose me.Babe, I'm already lost.Well, what are you doing,Are you flying or have you flipped?Oh, what are you doing,Are you flying or have you flipped?Well, you call my nameAnd then say your tongue just slipped.Denise, Denise,You're concealed here on the shelf.Denise, Denise,You're concealed here on the shelf.I'm looking deep in your eyes, babe,And all I can see is myself.

This song was sung by Eric von Schmidt and Bob Dylan at von Schmidt's Sarasota, Florida, home and released on the ultra-rare "50th Anniversary Collection 1964" copyright extension collection. It's an improvised courtship of sweet Betsy, with Bob and Eric apparently content to fight politely over her in her parlor. The two men switch identities toward the end.

Hey babyI'm gonna see, see sweet Betsy's face

I'm a seeBetsy, where you been?Come and see,Betsy, where in the world you been?Aw now, come home to Bob and me.

Well in her parlorWe did not mean no harmWell sittin' in her parlorDid not mean no harmOh now, you come home to us, funny farm.

Funny at the farmI said funny at the farmFunny at the farmFunny at the farmI swear now, we do not mean you no harm.

Well now, down in the lap of XXXXOh lord, you should have seen old Bobby and me.Well we were right there.We're sitting out now on them big ol' high chairs.

Well I'm on a high chairAnd Bob's on the lowWell I'm on a high chairEric is on the low.xxxxxxxJust the way it goes.

Well now I knowIt don't cause you no disgraceWell now I knowIt don't cause no disgraceCause neither one of us are here,We just take each other's place

Old folk song, apparently about a gun or a bottle of whiskey or a prison whip or something. In this version, as with Nick Cave's version, Betty is a woman. This song was sung by Eric von Schmidt and Bob Dylan at von Schmidt's Sarasota, Florida, home and released on the ultra-rare "50th Anniversary Collection 1964" copyright extension collection.

Saturday, August 22, 2015

I have strange habits,
But I love you so who cares?
I'm not gonna change.

By Cy Coleman and Joseph McCarthy.I'm sentimental, so I walk in the rainI've got some habits even I can't explainCould start for the corner, turn up in SpainBut why try to change me now?I sit and daydream, I've got daydreams galoreCigarette ashes, there they go on the floorI'll go away weekends, leave my keys in the doorBut why try to change me now?Why can't I be more conventional?People talk, people stare, so I tryBut that's not for me, 'cause I can't seeMy kind of crazy world go passing me bySo, let people wonder, let 'em laugh, let 'em frownYou know I'll love you till the moon's upside downDon't you remember I was always your clown?Why try to change me now?

By Harold Adamson and Jimmy McHugh.Where are you?Where have you gone without me?I thought you cared about meWhere are you?Where's my heart?Where is the dream we started?I can't believe we're partedWhere are you?When we said goodbyeLove, what had we to gain?When I gave you my loveWas it all in vain?All life throughMust I go on pretending?Where is my happy ending?Where are you?

By Irving Berlin.Gone is the romance that was so divine.'tis broken and cannot be mended.You must go your way,And I must go mine.But now that our love dreams have ended...What'll I doWhen you are far awayAnd I am blueWhat'll I do?What'll I do?When I am wond'ring whoIs kissing youWhat'll I do?What'll I do with just a photographTo tell my troubles to?When I'm aloneWith only dreams of youThat won't come trueWhat'll I do?What'll I do with just a photographTo tell my troubles to?When I'm aloneWith only dreams of youThat won't come trueWhat'll I do?

By Haven Gillespie and Beasley Smith.Up in the mornin', out on the jobWork like the devil for my payBut that lucky old sun has nothin' to doBut roll around heaven all dayFuss with my woman, toil for my kidsSweat till I'm wrinkled and grayWhile that lucky old sun has nothin' to doBut roll around heaven all dayGood Lord above, can't you see I'm piningTears in my eyesSend down that cloud with a silver liningLift me to paradiseShow me that river, take me acrossAnd wash all my troubles awayLike that lucky old sun, give me nothin' to doBut roll around heaven all dayOh Lord above, can't you know I'm piningTears in my eyesSend down that cloud with a silver liningLift me to paradiseShow me that river, take me acrossAnd wash all my troubles awayLike that lucky old sun, give me nothin' to doBut roll around heaven all day

Should my heart not be humbleShould my eyes fail to seeShould my feet sometimes stumbleOn the way, stay with meLike the lamb that in springtimeWanders far from the foldComes the darkness and the frostI get lostI grow coldI grow cold, I grow wearyAnd I know I have sinnedAnd I go seeking shelterAnd I cry in the windThough I grope and I blunderAnd I'm weak and I'm wrongThough the road buckles underWhere I walk, walk alongTill I find to my wonderEvery path leads to TheeAll that I can do is prayStay with meStay with me

By Oscar Hammerstein II and Richard Rodgers. From "South Pacific."Some enchanted evening, you may see a strangerYou may see a stranger across a crowded roomAnd somehow you know, you know even thenThat somewhere, you'll see her again and againSome enchanted evening, someone may be laughingYou may hear her laughing across a crowded roomAnd night after night, as strange as it seemsThe sound of her laughter will sing in your dreamsWho can explain it, who can tell you why?Fools give you reasons, wise men never trySome enchanted evening, when you find your true loveWhen you feel her call you across a crowded roomThen fly to her side and make her your ownOr all through your life you may dream all aloneOnce you have found her, never let her goOnce you have found her, never let her go

It's the end of us:
The moon and stars went away,
The sun didn't rise.

By Matt Dennis and Tom Adair.There was a moon out in spaceBut a cloud drifted over it's faceYou kissed me and went on your wayThe night we called it a dayI heard the song of the spheresLike a minor lament in my earsI hadn't the heart left to prayThe night we called it a daySoft through the darkThe hoot of an owl in the skySad though his songNo bluer was he than IThe moon went down stars were goneBut the sun didn't rise with the dawnThere wasn't a thing left to sayThe night we called it a dayThere wasn't a thing left to sayThe night we called it a day

I'm a fool to want youI'm a fool to want youTo want a love that can't be trueA love that's there for others tooI'm a fool to hold youSuch a fool to hold youTo seek a kiss not mine aloneTo share a kiss that Devil has knownTime and time again I said I'd leave youTime and time again I went awayBut then would come the time when I would need youAnd once again these words I had to sayTake me back, I love youI need youI know it's wrong, it must be wrongBut right or wrong I can't get alongWithout you